Stocks fell on Tuesday as Boeing again delayed the first test flight of its Dreamliner aircraft and housing data pointed to a sluggish economic recovery.

Boeing Co , the Dow's biggest drag, said the inaugural flight of its long-delayed 787 Dreamliner will be postponed so it can reinforce a section of the aircraft. Boeing slid 9 percent to $42.72.

Sales of previously owned homes rose at a slower-than-expected pace in May, industry data showed, pointing to a tepid recovery from a severe recession.

In my view the housing number suggests that things are bottoming, but that's a far cry from improving. I think the markets are focused on how fast the recovery is going to be, and I think it won't be as fast as people are thinking, said Subodh Kumar, chief investment strategist at Subodh Kumar & Associates in Toronto.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> slipped 33.18 points, or 0.40 percent, to 8,305.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was off 1.79 points, or 0.20 percent, to 891.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> eased 7.92 points, or 0.45 percent, to 1,758.27.

Losses were cushioned by a search for bargains the day after the worst session for stocks in two months. After a sharp rally off March's 12-year lows, the market has pulled back as investors questioned the strength of a recovery and fretted over a possible correction after a three-month run-up.

The broad S&P 500 dropped back into negative territory for the year on Monday. Though the index is up nearly 32 percent from a 12-year low in March, it has eased off a gain of as much as 40 percent.

Shares of Starbucks Corp and FedEx Corp both benefited from broker upgrades. On the Nasdaq, Starbucks rose 2.8 percent to $14.10 after Robert W. Baird said it raised its rating to outperform from neutral.

FedEx gained 2 percent to $51.04 after JPMorgan boosted the shares to overweight from neutral and said a turn in the economy will give significant upside to the stock.

A U.S. Treasury auction later in the day will be watched for how successfully the new securities are absorbed by the market. The auction of $40 billion in two-year notes is part of a total of $104 billion in new issuance this week, the largest single-week amount of debt sales.

(Reporting by Leah Schnurr; additional reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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